The best trading apps and the best desktop platform are often not the same broker. Some brokers have poured resources into mobile-first experiences that rival their desktop counterparts. Others treat mobile as an afterthought. This guide cuts straight to the apps that actually deliver — organized by what matters most to different types of mobile traders.
All apps reviewed are available on iOS and Android unless noted.
Quick Picks
| Best For | App |
|---|---|
| Overall mobile experience | Fidelity |
| Beginners | Robinhood |
| Active options traders | tastytrade or thinkorswim |
| Advanced charting on mobile | Webull |
| Paper trading | Webull |
| All-in-one financial life | SoFi |
| Bank-connected investors | J.P. Morgan (Chase) or Ally Invest |
| Professional-grade mobile | IBKR Mobile |
| Getting paid to trade options | Public.com |
| Desktop power on mobile | Power E*TRADE Mobile |
Best Overall Mobile App: Fidelity
Fidelity is NerdWallet’s 2026 winner for best app for investing. The Fidelity mobile app is clean, fast, and remarkably bug-free — a combination that sounds basic but is rarer than it should be among major brokers. Fidelity’s investing app is excellent for everyday investors, while the newer Trader+ mobile mode lets charts and layouts sync across devices.
What sets it apart from the competition isn’t any single feature — it’s the combination. 4.5%+ APY automatically on idle cash. Zero-fee index funds. $0 exercise and assignment on options. 24/7 live support. All accessible from a single well-designed app with no Gold membership or premium tier required.
Fidelity’s mobile experience is cleanly designed, bug-free, and delivers a phenomenal experience for investors.
App Store rating: 4.8/5 Options fee on mobile: $0.65/contract Read our full review: Fidelity Review 2026
Best App for Beginners: Robinhood
Robinhood has arguably done more than any other broker to make trading via phone app popular, and it continues to be a leader and innovator among mobile brokers.
The Robinhood app remains the gold standard for simplicity. No clutter, no overwhelming charts, no feature bloat — just clean, fast execution with a design that makes placing your first options trade feel approachable rather than intimidating. The 24-Hour Market feature lets you trade outside standard hours, and the integration of Robinhood Legend on desktop gives more advanced traders room to grow without switching platforms.
Gold membership adds 3.35% APY on idle cash and a 3% IRA match — making Robinhood one of the most financially rewarding apps for consistent retirement savers.
App Store rating: 4.2/5 Options fee on mobile: $0 per contract Read our full review: Robinhood Review 2026
Best App for Active Options Traders: tastytrade
tastytrade’s mobile app was built by the same team that built thinkorswim — and it shows. The options chain is clean, streaming Greeks update in real time, and placing multi-leg strategies from a phone takes seconds rather than minutes. The Follow Feed lets you see live trades from tastylive traders without leaving the app.
tastytrade’s platform is built for active options traders, offering low per-contract pricing, fast trade execution, and advanced strategy tools. StockBrokers.com The mobile experience doesn’t compromise on any of that — it’s one of the few apps where serious options traders don’t feel like they’re making sacrifices to trade from a phone.
App Store rating: 4.7/5 Options fee on mobile: $1 open / $0 close / $10 cap per leg Read our full review: tastytrade Review 2026
Best App for Advanced Charting: Webull
Webull has evolved past its origins as a low-cost disruptor, solidifying its position as a sophisticated hub for active market participants. It offers a great mobile experience and a fantastic paper trading platform. StockBrokers.com
With AI-powered summaries that slice through market noise and industry-leading paper trading tools for testing strategies, Webull presents a compelling choice for traders. StockBrokers.com The mobile app packs 56+ technical indicators, a historical replay mode, deep order flow analysis, and voice command trading into a handheld interface that rival platforms struggle to match on desktop.
Free real-time Level 2 market data for funded accounts makes Webull the best free data package available on mobile anywhere in this series.
App Store rating: 4.7/5 Options fee on mobile: $0 per contract Read our full review: Webull Review 2026
Best App for Paper Trading: Webull
Webull’s paper trader lets you practice trading stocks, options, and futures with a fake $1,000,000 — the most generous virtual cash balance of any paper trading environment in this series. The simulated account mirrors live market conditions with real-time pricing, making it one of the most realistic practice environments available on mobile.
ETRADE is the runner-up — its paper trading platform offers up to $100,000 in virtual cash and $200,000 in margin buying power available directly through the Power ETRADE mobile app.
Best for: New options traders who want to practice strategies before committing real capital.
Best App for the Whole Financial Picture: SoFi
SoFi’s app is the most complete financial management experience in this series — banking, investing, loans, credit cards, and financial planning all under one login. SoFi’s strength is its simplified, user-centric design — the app works for casual or beginner investors who want a straightforward way to build a diversified portfolio without a steep learning curve.
The $0 per contract options fee, 1% IRA match, and IPO access at no cost make it one of the most financially rewarding apps for investors who want everything in one place. The limitation is options strategy depth — only long calls and puts are available on mobile.
App Store rating: 4.8/5 Options fee on mobile: $0 per contract Read our full review: SoFi Invest Review 2026
Best App for Bank-Connected Investors
J.P. Morgan (Chase customers): The Chase Mobile app integrates banking and investing seamlessly — instant transfers between checking and brokerage, one login for your entire financial life. The basic E*TRADE mobile app is best for day-to-day trades and portfolio monitoring, but for Chase customers, the J.P. Morgan app eliminates the friction of managing separate financial apps entirely.
Ally Invest (Ally Bank customers): Integration with Ally Bank lets investors move money instantly to high-yield savings accounts, taking advantage of rates several times higher than typical default sweep rates — solving the near-zero cash yield problem on mobile without any extra steps.
Read our full reviews: J.P. Morgan Review 2026 | Ally Invest Review 2026
Best Professional-Grade Mobile App: IBKR Mobile
IBKR Mobile brings Interactive Brokers’ industry-leading technology and deep liquidity to your fingertips, delivering powerful execution and advanced trading tools that rival desktop platforms.
Access to 170+ global markets, advanced order types, portfolio-level Greeks, and the full IBKR analytical toolkit — all from a phone. For traders who need institutional-grade execution on mobile, nothing in this series comes close. The caveat is the same as the desktop experience: IBKR Mobile is ideal for advanced, professional traders who need granular control and advanced order types. Beginners will find it overwhelming.
App Store rating: 4.5/5 Options fee on mobile: $0.65 → $0.15/contract (tiered) Read our full review: Interactive Brokers Review 2026
Best App for Getting Paid to Trade Options: Public.com
Public.com is the only app in this series that pays you per contract traded — $0.06 to $0.18 back on every options transaction through its revenue-sharing program. Public not only offers free options trading, but also pays customers to trade options — a unique feature among brokers.
Add 3.6% APY on idle cash automatically, AI-generated custom investing indexes from plain-language prompts, and 99.994% platform uptime, and Public.com is the most innovative app in this series for cost-conscious options traders.
App Store rating: 4.6/5 Options fee on mobile: $0 + rebate up to $0.18/contract Read our full review: Public.com Review 2026
Best Two-App System: E*TRADE
ETRADE expertly blends easy-to-use mobile features and access to advanced brokerage capabilities — the basic ETRADE mobile app is best for day-to-day trades and portfolio monitoring, while the Power E*TRADE app is best for active traders looking for richer charting, options support, and advanced order types.
The two-app approach means beginners and intermediate traders can start simple and graduate to Power ETRADE without switching brokers. Power ETRADE’s app converts all chart patterns and analysis tools from desktop to smartphone without losing functionality, supporting multi-leg options chains, complex strategies, and paper trading.
App Store rating: 4.7/5 (Power E*TRADE) Options fee on mobile: $0.65/contract ($0.50 at 30+ trades/quarter) Read our full review: E*TRADE Review 2026
App Ratings at a Glance
| App | App Store | Google Play | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fidelity | 4.8 | 4.6 | Overall experience |
| Robinhood | 4.2 | 4.1 | Beginners |
| tastytrade | 4.7 | 4.5 | Active options |
| Webull | 4.7 | 4.3 | Advanced charting |
| SoFi | 4.8 | 3.9 | All-in-one finance |
| Public.com | 4.6 | 4.1 | Options rebate |
| IBKR Mobile | 4.5 | 4.0 | Professional traders |
| Power E*TRADE | 4.7 | 4.2 | Options analytics |
| thinkorswim | 4.7 | 2.5 | Options tools |
| moomoo | 4.7 | 4.4 | Free Level 2 data |
| Ally Invest | 4.7 | 3.9 | Bank integration |
| J.P. Morgan | 4.8 | 4.7 | Chase customers |
Ratings sourced from App Store and Google Play as of April 2026. Subject to change.
What to Look for in a Trading App
- Execution speed. For options traders, seconds matter around earnings announcements and market opens. Apps with known reliability issues or outage histories — tastytrade and some others have reported these — are worth factoring in before making them your primary mobile platform.
- Options chain quality. A good mobile options chain should display real-time Greeks, customizable columns, and support multi-leg entry without requiring you to switch to desktop. Webull, thinkorswim, tastytrade, and Power E*TRADE all deliver this on mobile. Robinhood and SoFi do not.
- Cash yield. Money sitting idle in your app between trades should earn meaningful yield. Fidelity, Public.com, and Robinhood Gold all handle this automatically. Most others require manual action or pay near zero.
- Paper trading. If you’re still learning, a paper trading environment that mirrors real market conditions is one of the most valuable features an app can offer. Webull, E*TRADE, thinkorswim, and IBKR all deliver this on mobile.
- Security. Look for two-factor authentication, biometric login, and a track record of protecting client accounts. All apps in this series are FINRA-regulated and SIPC-protected up to $500,000.
Common Questions About Trading Apps (FAQ)
Which trading app is best for options beginners?
Robinhood is the most accessible starting point — $0 per contract, clean interface, and a low-pressure environment for learning basic calls and puts. For beginners who want paper trading before risking real money, Webull is the better choice.
Which trading app has the best charting?
Webull leads on mobile charting with 56+ technical indicators, a historical replay mode, and institutional-grade order flow analysis. thinkorswim (Schwab) is the runner-up with deeper options-specific analytical tools.
Can I trade options from a mobile app?
Yes — all apps in this guide support options trading on mobile. The quality of the options experience varies significantly, from basic call and put buying on Robinhood and SoFi to full multi-leg strategy builders with streaming Greeks on tastytrade, Webull, and Power E*TRADE.
Which trading app has the best paper trading?
Webull offers the most generous paper trading environment — $1,000,000 in virtual cash with real-time pricing. E*TRADE offers $100,000 virtual cash with $200,000 in margin buying power. Both are available on mobile.
Is it safe to trade from a mobile app?
Yes, provided you use a regulated broker. All apps in this guide are regulated by FINRA and SEC, with SIPC protection up to $500,000. Use two-factor authentication, avoid trading on public Wi-Fi, and enable biometric login where available for additional security.
